Webbing thoughts

As some of you know, I'm a STAB, and that means I particularly care about my webbing, as while you guys may smirk if I have a webbing malfunction, my colour boy will not be so amused. So I've been chopping and changing my webbing and handing on bits and pieces that don't work, slowly but surely improving my kit. Josh once said I looked like a turtle, but sadly the option to wear "thin" kit is something I could only really do at airsoft, so I might as well get my kit right for both a skirmish and the odd weekend on Dartmoor ;-)

My standard webbing is S95 belt order with an improved Arktis hippo pad and yoke. You cannot really go wrong with belt order for price and robust build quality. Also for those of you who like the authentic squaddie look there really is no alternative in woodland DPM. The hippo pad is a saviour, and the padding on the shoulders of the Arktis (compared to the toilet paper on the issue ones) is nice if you intend to carry a canteen and fill up your pouches.

Little tip: run a bungee through the bottom of the pouches so that they pull together tightly. Sean Pertwee may like to have his ammo pouches around the front to rest his rifle on, but most of us prefer to be able to lie prone comfortably. Make sure the pouches are around the sides so you have a lower profile and for ease of movement.

Osprey armour in woodland DPM is like rooster teeth, so I went with a Warrior W-RPC-7 Plate Carrier. If you decide to go with a vest, you have two choices: either go with one you can cinch up high so you can still wear belt order (for that true Sangin look), or ditch belt order entirely. In Helmand, the guys were being issued 16 mags for some patrols, so they needed belt order and the osprey MOLLE. One poor sod was issued the LSW and ended up carry 20 mags for three days. As you have probably seen, I like to emulate his heroism ;-)

If you do decide to go with both belt order and vest, then this gives you a lot of tactical options. I go grenades up high on the vest, backup pistol on the left, mid caps in the belt order, with pistol mags across the front of the vest. Get yourself a UBACS shirt if you decide to go with a vest though, you will warm up a lot and a standard S95 combat shirt is hot work.

The other advantage of a vest is of course either an integrated or MOLLE attached Camelbak which certainly makes a cool drink in a gunfight possible.

Now onto "thigh order". Thigh panels seem like a good idea, but I haven't got them right entirely yet. There is a tendency for them to swing forward when running and also catch your weapon barrel. The one I can certainly recommend - especially if you love switching mags and mid caps - is a Vanguard dump pouch. Doesn't swing, perfect height, no problems. On the other side I've got an Arktis (I like Arktis as its IRR) MOLLE panel and a quad smoke holder (available from Arktis direct if you send them an email). The size of these fit the TLSFX smokes fine, but are a bit tight for the larger silver smokes.

If you do decide to go with thigh panels/holsters, make sure to upgrade your belt! I suggest the BULLE tactical harness and belt - these act like braces and the belt is very stiff to support the weights you now have on your drop panels.

If you go with thigh panels, vest and belt order, do NOT expect to be an Olympic sprinter, but at the same time there are some advantages:

- Authentic squaddie look
- Outfitted for every eventuality
- You get fit quick
- No reloading in the field. Ever.

Downsides:

- Costs a bit to keep trying out bits and pieces till you're happy.
- You do sweat your bollocks off on the assault.
- It doesn't make sense for all games.